The Lake
by Nonki
Summary: Tsukushi finally get to make a trip alone to visit her grandmother in Honshu. While she was there, she was attracted by one particular lake which her grandmother had forbidden her to go. Chapter 3 is up!
1. The Lake

N/N: Ahh….I know I ought to be continuing with those unfinished fan fiction titles of mine instead of writing new ones…gosh…forgive me for that…but I am trying to get my writing blocks unclogged. So do bear with me….thanks! Thank you all for reading my humble fictions! Thanks!

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**THE LAKE**

**Chapter 1**

_The Lake_

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"Finally…" Tsukushi muttered under her breath before letting out a tiny yawn. The announcing of her destination would mean that the long tedious hours in the confined compartment were about to come to an end. As she stepped out of the train, Tsukushi spotted a familiar face with a warming smile pinned on her wrinkled face.

"Obaasan!" Tsukushi cried as she ran over and gave her grandmother a big hug.

It was Tsukushi's first visit to Honshu ever since her grandmother had decided to spend the rest of her life by moving back to her hometown, during that time, Tsukushi was only five years old. "I miss you so much!" Tsukushi's eyes were already swelling with tears.

"Me too…" Tsukushi's grandmother said while she patted her head gently, happy to know that her family hadn't forgotten about her after all these years.

- - - - -

"That is such a beautiful pool of water over there." Tsukushi exclaimed and pointed at one lake situated at the far end of the mountain when they were on their way back to her grandmother's house.

"You must stay away from that place while you are here." Her grandmother quickly warned her in a whispering tone as though someone was eavesdropping on them.

"It's haunted."

"Haunted?" Tsukushi almost wanted to laugh out but she didn't because she did not want to sound too offensive towards her grandmother's statement.

"But it looks so…" Tsukushi paused and stared quietly at the pool of still water.

"Beautiful." That was the only word Tsukushi's mind could think of at that moment. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

Tsukushi swore she had heard something but she quickly dismissed the feeling thinking that it might due to the fatigue of the long train journey when her grandmother claimed she did not hear anything.

"Nothing…maybe it was just my imagination."

"Let's go, granny."

- - - - -

The lake was not very big but as according to her grandmother, the core of the lake was very deep. There were many trees growing around the sides of the lake, some were so old that the top part of those trees were bent and stretching all the way to the centre area, thus cover almost of the lake's surface area.

The morning sun ray was exceptionally comfortable, especially on a summer day's morning and Tsukushi found herself back inside the forbidden ground despite of her grandmother's constant warnings during the past few days.

Tsukushi quickly climbed up to one huge rock where she could have the best view of the lake while standing on top of it and started admiring the sceneries around her. It was already her third day at the lake and Tsukushi had this feeling that she had been here forever and as if the lake belonged to her and she, belonged to the lake.

On the other hand, she did notice that the villagers would rather walk a few extra miles to another river for their daily water consumption rather than coming to the lake even though the water here was clean and clear.

She tried asking her grandmother about the reason behind her 'haunted' theory, but it seemed like a taboo topic to be discussed in the village. Nobody was willing to go further into details, not even her grandmother.

_How can it be haunted when it is so beautiful?_

As Tsukushi was almost lost in her thoughts, a string a beautiful notes had somehow brought her back and it was then she realized she was not alone, after all.

_**To be continued…**_


	2. Rui

_NN: Thank you Prizz for being the first reviewer of this fic. Thanks a lot!_

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_**THE LAKE**_

**Chapter 2**

_Rui_

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_This is the same tune I've heard during that day. _Tsukushi recalled upon hearing the music and before turning towards the direction of the source. There, she spotted a young man standing not far from her but she couldn't see his face because he was facing the lake, playing his violin.

As she took a seat on a low rock, Tsukushi stared at the back view of this stranger, wondering who he was and, for what reason was his music so beautiful and yet depressing at the same time. Each an every musical note played was like many little untold stories awaiting to be revealed.

"This is simply beautiful; please play another piece, will you?" Tsukushi exclaimed and shocked by the fact that she her thoughts said out when the music finally came to an end.

Though the stranger became aware of Tsukushi's presence, he did not turn his head. "It's okay if you don't want to." Tsukushi quickly said but much to her surprise, the young man slowly rose up his violin and started playing another tune. Once again, Tsukushi was mesmerized by the music played with her mind soon wandering off and suddenly she found herself standing behind some bushes and outside one half opened window, witnessing a chat between two handsome looking young men inside the room.

- - - -

"Love," The first man began, "can be deceptive, Rui. Are you sure it's love and not an ideal you've chasing for so long and now think you have found it? You cannot live with an ideology, Rui."

"Yes." Rui had replied. "It's an ideology. She is my idea of a complete woman. With her, I found the joy; the ecstasy and the agony which I always thought never existed. Yes, Jirou, it is love. I know it and I've never been surer of it."

"But she doesn't love you! Don't you get it? She's just toying with your feelings. Toudou Shizuka would never be serious with you and this is what she had told me, you can ask Akira if you want. Even Tsukasa knew about this. You are the only one who doesn't get it!" Soujirou had seemed desperate, trying to reason out with Rui and to make him see the senselessness of the situation.

Rui receded into the corner of the room to be by himself after Soujirou left the room. Rui had never been a person who would listen or be easily persuaded. He had his own mind and strong beliefs and opinions. To him, Toudou Shizuka was magical, womanly, and someone whom he was most comfortable with.

She had accepted him as a very closed friend.

She told him so when they first met.

As Tsukushi was listening throughout the entire conversation, she didn't know why her heart had gone out to Rui. To see him suffering was akin to her own heart breaking. The aches and constriction Tsukushi felt as she saw him despair and yet she could do nothing to alleviate it had left her tight-chested and breathless.

Tsukushi had never known it could hurt so much to love someone.

- - - -

"Are you okay?" He asked her softly, almost a whisper, perhaps for the fear of intruding into her thoughts.

"Who are you?" Tsukushi stuttered unbelievelingly when she realized the face in front of her was in fact, the man, by the name of Rui.

_**To be continued...**_


	3. Acquaintance

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**THE LAKE**

**Chapter 3**

_Acquaintance _

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When Tsukushi was five, her father was fired from his sixth job and their life took on to a new pattern after they were told to move out of their apartment which was only meant for the employees. Having barely a few thousand yens left in their bank account, Tsukushi's father had no choice but to seek help from his mother.

Since Tsukushi's grandfather passed away before she was even born, her grandmother had been living alone inside one small apartment in Tokyo after her only son gotten married. The moment she learnt about her son's devastating situation, she decided to return to Honshu and gave part of the money from the selling of her apartment to him.

"Are you okay? You looked as if you've just seen a ghost."

Tsukushi's grandmother asked when she noticed Tsukushi in a state of daze after she had returned from her routine walk.

"I am fine."

Tsukushi sank into the nearest chair, drained. She was aware that she had not been convincing, but surely that could not be important.

"Dinner will be ready soon," Without the intention to prompt any further, "perhaps you can take a bath first."

Tsukushi's grandmother then headed back to the kitchen and continued with her dinner preparation.

- - - - -

Half an hour later when Tsukushi was back at the dinning table with her grandmother, she managed to put everything out of her mind but the simple and yet delicious food on the table.

"Granny…"

Unfortunately, her curiosity was forbidding her to have her dinner in peace.

"Yes?"

Tsukushi was feeling a vague sense of unease, "The lake…"

"Didn't I warn you not to go there?"

Her grandmother looked at her reproachfully as she put her bowl back onto the table. "No…I didn't…" Tsukushi lied, "I am just wondering if there is any special story behind that lake."

"There isn't any story." Tsukushi's grandmother said cautiously and looked at her a long time, then stiffly rose to her feet.

"People just died mysteriously after visiting the lake, so you better stay away from there."

- - - - -

**Few hours earlier….**

"Who are you?"

"Who am I?"

The man let out a charming grin and shrugged. "I am a resident, and who are you, may I ask?"

The man threw the question back to Tsukushi.

"I…"

Tsukushi was momentarily lost for words as she gazed at those brown glassy eyes of this familiar stranger.

"…a visitor."

Tsukushi felt her face redden as she blurted out her answer and let out an awkward laugh.

"Your music…" Tsukushi's mind raced frantically trying to figure out what she could say to get her out of this awkward situation as she diverted her glance towards the violin in the man's hand, "…is beautiful."

"I suppose that's true." The man said modesty. "But that depends on what you mean by beautiful."

"What I mean is," Tsukushi said bluntly, "you've played so well that I won't mind listening to it over and over again."

The man found a grin he didn't feel.

"If this is the case, I won't mind playing it over and over again...for you."

Tsukushi showed her surprise. "You will?"

Soon, music started filling the air and Tsukushi quietly listened with her eyes closed while each music note seemed to take on as an extraordinary importance as though her senses had somehow been stimulated beyond normal.

"Hey…watch out!"

Tsukushi opened her eyes and just in the nick of time, she managed to duck away from a beach ball hurling towards her direction.

"Dai jo bu desuka?" One young lady, wearing a set of blue bikini, quickly asked after stopping beside Tsukushi.

"I...I am fine...but," Tsukushi replied, "where am I?"

Tsukushi muttered unbelievingly as she frantically looked around and finding herself standing in the middle of a sandy beach.

_**To be continued…**_


End file.
